The banana diaries

Guess what!? It's hump day.

#yourewelcome

I don't know about you, but as August is coming to a close, I know that I'll switching gears from all things summer to full-out FALL: my favorite season, and not just because my birthday is coming up. But before I go on a tangential rant about how much I love fall (I'll save that for next month, don't you worry!), I wanted to satisfy my intense craving for bananas this past week.

Yes, like the name of my blog suggests, you will find lots of bananas here. Banana bread, banana muffins, banana cream pie, banana oatmeal, bananas with almond butter and chocolate chips, banana-based smoothies, banana ice cream...I could go on! There's just something so comforting about the taste of bananas that always puts a smile on my face.

Aside from being a sweet and yummy treat, they're also full of potassium and magnesium- essential for the recovery of muscles in order to build lean muscle mass (Eat This, Not That!). Bananas also contain folate (Vitamin B9), a vitamin that may help fight depression (maybe that's why I smile a lot when I eat bananas!) (ibid). Not bad, huh?

​So I did some exploring, and I visited one of my favorite blogs, Chocolate Covered Katie, to find the perfect gluten-free banana muffin/cookie recipe. Now, when I say these are the best banana muffins I have had, I mean it. Forget that they're gluten (and refined-sugar) free, they could be entered into a competition against any other regular banana muffin, and I can guarantee you that these would beat out every single muffin. Don't believe me? Try them out for yourself!

Made with bananas, white beans, GF oats, and almond butter, these cookie-muffins are such a simple recipe and are the perfect afternoon snack. I love to spread a little almond butter on them, or I break them up and mix them into a bit of Greek yogurt with some chocolate chips. YUM!

I don't think anyone can love breakfast as much as I do.

Literally impossible. Breakfast is my hands-down favorite meal of the day. Despite my Italian heritage, I love breakfast. In fact, breakfast is usually the one thing on my mind when I go to sleep each night. What am I going to eat? The options are endless. Yes, even for the glutenoids like myself (I see you out there).

The oats are...

Creamy...Chewy...Sweet...Tangy...Easy to make...Made with ingredients you can feel good about!!

Below is my standard recipe for overnight oats. This is a make ahead recipe, so you can make this right before you go to sleep the night before. When you wake up, you'll have a bowl full of yummy yoats! As my blog grows, be on the lookout for more variations, as I plan on sharing with you my versions of brownie batter oats, cookie dough oats, banana cream pie oats, golden milk oats, and more! Just you wait!

Hey everyone!

How is your Monday treating you? Mine started off with a nice run through Union Square and down by the Piers. I absolutely love that run. You'd be surprised how many people are up at my ungodly hour as well (5:00 a.m. to be precise). I probably pass 30-40 runners every morning (both those of whom are running the opposite direction me and those of whom I have mentally declared I'm racing, though they may not know it).

Today, I wanted to share with you my favorite nut-butter recipe. Why is it my favorite?

One. It is SO delicious. Creamy. Smooth. Yum.Two. It is almost hysterical how simple and easy it is. Literally, one ingredient, and the whole process takes 20-25 minutes. Yep. It's that quick! All you need is an oven and food processor, and you're set to go!

And so, without further ado, I present to you my 1-ingredient Almond Butter!

Preheat the over to 400 degrees F. Place the almonds on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Once the oven has reached the temperature, place the almonds inside the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

​ 2. Once the almonds are roasted, pour them into the food processor.

3. Grind them until smooth. At first it will look like dust, then it will clump, and finally, it will. turn into a smooth and creamy. 4. Once smooth, pour into a jar and enjoy! I like to store mine in the fridge so that it lasts longer, but you can also let it sit for a while. It should make about 2 cups, and a serving is about 1 tbsp (or if you're like me, a serving may be by the spoonfuls. Everyone is different).

And there you have it! A super simple, super easy, and healthy way to make almond butter! It also ends up being more cost-effective as well, especially when you buy the almonds in bulk. A normal jar of almond butter that most likely has oils, sugar, and salt added to it, will cost between $8-$10. If you buy your almonds in bulk, it can be as cheap at $6 per jar! Not bad at all.

​Hope you enjoy, and let me know how you like it! See you guys next time! ​